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The Thin Red Line
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The Thin Red Line (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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The Thin Red Line (1998) -- Director Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.
The Thin Red Line (1998) -- Director Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.

Overview

User Rating:
7.4/10   54,015 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Terrence Malick
Writers (WGA):
James Jones (novel)
Terrence Malick (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Thin Red Line on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 January 1999 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Drama | War more
Tagline:
Every man fights his own war.
Plot:
Director Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 19 nominations more
User Comments:
A haunting exploration of the meanings of life, death and war through the eyes of a group of disenchanted soldiers more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Kirk Acevedo ... Pvt. Tella
Penelope Allen ... Witt's Mother (as Penny Allen)
Benjamin Green ... Melanesian Villager (as Benjamin)

Simon Billig ... Lt. Col. Billig
Mark Boone Junior ... Pvt. Peale

Adrien Brody ... Cpl. Fife
Norman Patrick Brown ... Pvt. Henry

James Caviezel ... Pvt. Witt (as Jim Caviezel)

Ben Chaplin ... Pvt. Bell

George Clooney ... Capt. Bosche

John Cusack ... Capt. Gaff
Jarrod Dean ... Cpl. Thorne

Matt Doran ... Pvt. Coombs

Travis Fine ... Pvt. Weld

Paul Gleeson ... 1st Lt. Band
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for realistic war violence and language.
Runtime:
170 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Terrence Malick shot for 100 days in Australia, 24 in the Solomon Islands and three in the United States. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Brig. Gen. Quintard says to (Lt.) Colonel Tall: "We've got good sergeants and good lieutenant colonels. But once a man gets those eagles he can't wait to get that star." Since he says that in respect to Talls own behavior and since the eagle is the Insignia of colonels, Tall must be one (unlike how it is written in the credits and also in the book.) more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Private Witt: I remember my mother when she was dyin', looked all shrunk up and gray. I asked her if she was afraid. She just shook her head. I was afraid to touch the death I seen in her. I couldn't find nothin' beautiful or uplifting about her goin' back to God...
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Book That Wrote Itself (1999) more
Soundtrack:
The Prophecy from the Village of Kremnus more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
98 out of 120 people found the following comment useful:-
A haunting exploration of the meanings of life, death and war through the eyes of a group of disenchanted soldiers, 2 November 2001
10/10
Author: Allan Houston (ephor) from Brisbane, Australia

This is one of the most beautifully crafted and haunting films that I have ever seen. Not only is the amazing ensemble cast give truly beautiful, effective performances, but the direction and cinematography combines to create a magnificent visual and mental feast.

This story about the Guadalcanal campaign during WW2, based on the James Jones novel, weaves the lives of many characters together seemlessly, creating a philosophical/emotional experience of war. It's not just about war. It's about love, faith in yourself and others, friendship, humanity, morality and also works as a startling indictment of man's conflict with nature. The amazing opening sequence, sets up a tranquility as the character Witt, finds peace on a secluded island among the natives, a peace which is shattered by the war.

What follows is not a mindless battle-after-battle onslaught of pyrotechnics, smoke, dust and blood, but a thought-provoking, visually and verbally poetic analysis of war and humanity. In my opinion it is the greatest war film since Apocalypse now, which I believe bears more flaws than this. It's not an Us-and-Them war story about the glory of the USA defeating the evil Japs. It sticks close with the characters, as we hear the thoughts, their hopes, their fears, leading to a moving experience.

This film was released a few months after Saving Private Ryan and unfortunately did not experience the same attention that the latter film did. Ryan was an excellent film, but to offer a comparison, The Thin Red LIne treads where Ryan didn't dare. Ryan sat in the safe territory of Good vs Evil with a bit of Futility of War and a lot of American Patriotism. It seemed to be more about America at some points than about war. The Thin Red Line is about war, the people involved and the destruction it creates for the mind, the soul and for nature. It does not deviate from this to make simple contrasts and offer easy binary oppositions.

In fact, TTRL is not an easy film. Gasp, it even tries to make you think. Though the title is not really explained in the film, I believe it is implied, and could have many meanings - the line between sanity and insanity, morality and immorality, love and hate, companionship and loneliness, nature and man, war and peace. While the characters share their thoughts, deeply poetic as they are, the meaning is not thrown in your face and neither is the answer to the questions raised. In this way it is the most thought-provoking war film I've ever seen and one of the best films of all time in my book. Top ten easily.

Now to my whinge. I think TTRL was shunned unmercifully at the 1999 Oscars. Shakespeare in Love beat two brilliant films - TTRL and Elizabeth - to get that oscar, and don't get me started on Gwyneth's award. This is the best film of 1998/9, in line with Elizabeth. It's unfortunate that the two, thoug h greatly revered, did not achieve the success and attention they deserved.

Don't be afraid by its length, it's a beautiful journey, full of rich colour, sound and the reward is a deeply moving human experience, unlike any other that the past decade has offered.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Thin Red Line (1998)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
The first time - I hated it, the second - it grew on me oscarsjocrona
'We know you there, Yank!' angelreyes451
Differences between the movie and the book i_got_trouble
6 Hour Version. jgbend888
List of War Movies better than this. onlineaccounts-1
Fell asleep TWICE rpgod2
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